Gamma incorrect in Windows 10

[Kain]

I don't know what is causing this but it could be one of the March updates for Windows 10 as I don't recall this happening before that timeframe. Basically, gamma and/or brightness seems off in Windows 10 now. For example, in Apex Legends while in the Firing Range, the place you spawn in is a cave and supposed to be dark and hard to see. Yet I can see everything clearly. I have attached a screenshot. You are not supposed to be able to see the walls and the end of the cave like this.



I haven't changing any setting related to brightness and/or gamma in Windows 10 or on my monitor.

And it's not just Apex Legends (the only game I've tried so far) as even just using Windows 10 everything seems to have a slightly elevated brightness.

Any ideas? I tried rolling back my NVIDIA drivers and it made no difference.

[Ravens Nest]

Maybe try changing the "output dynamic range" setting within the Nvidia control panel "change resolution" tab?

[Kain]

It was on the NVIDIA default setting of "Full". I tried changing it to "Limited" and my black wallpaper turned gray. Put it back to "Full".

By the way, I have Discord on my PC and iPhone. When I open Discord on both, the gray colored areas of the Discord app are much brighter on my PC compared to my iPhone. They used to be the same tint/color.

Also, it seems the rest of the colors are still fine. It just that grays are elevated in brightness and not as "deep". Basically, gray colors seem light gray now.

[Kain]

Getting the same issue in Safe Mode as well.

[Kain]

Not sure if this matters, but I did shift my PC to another room about a week ago. Settings and cable hook-ups are same though.

[Munkus]

Not sure if this matters, but I did shift my PC to another room about a week ago. Settings and cable hook-ups are same though.

It could matter. Does your monitor use ambient light to determine gamma, brightness, etc? There should be a setting in the OSD to turn that off.

[Kain]

Pretty sure my monitor doesn't have any such sensor.

[Munkus]

Pretty sure my monitor doesn't have any such sensor.

If not, the only other things I can suggest are:

1. Set Text/Display scaling to 100% in the Win 10 control panel. See if that helps. Settings above 100% have been known to mess with gamma. Also make sure the correct refresh rate is being used.

2. Confirm that Windows is using your 'official' monitor driver rather than the generic PnP driver.

3. Reinstall the nvidia driver using the "clean installation" option. It will remove any custom profiles, but it might help if something became corrupted.

4. Is HDR turned on? Either in Windows or in the monitor settings?

That's all I've got. If none of that works, see if you can try a different monitor, or try your monitor on a different computer. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Good luck!

[Kain]

1. Already at 100%.

2. Using official monitor driver. I uninstalled and reinstalled it as well.

3. Tried reinstalling NVIDA drivers multiple times as well as different versions.

4. My monitor doesn't support HDR.

By the way, I did try another GPU (a GTX 1060) and still had the same results.

Also, I wonder if this is caused by some SDR/HDR mess up in Windows 10? My monitor doesn't support HDR. Right now, blacks are blacks like they should be. But the other colors, especially grays have elevated brightness. It's like there is a lack of "depth" in picture in certain conditions. It's not really noticeable unless you know what to look for (like my screenshot in the first post). If you look at how the cave in the Firing Range looks like in Apex Legends in YouTube videos or screenshots, it is completely dark and hard to see inside. Yet my screenshot shows I can see all the way to the back of the cave.

[Kain]

Tried a different monitor and got the same results.

[Munkus]

Tried a different monitor and got the same results.

Weird. Might be time for a clean Windows install then.

[Kain]

Not even a clean installed fixed it.

[Kain]

I just checked my brother's PC and we both confirmed the issue is happening on his PC as well. Even on his lock screen (which he hasn't changed in forever), there is elevated brightness on the dark areas of the screen. We can even see banding that was not there before in the dark areas of the screen due to the increased brightness. Seems like it is an issue caused by some previous Windows update. Guess I'll just stop trying to fix it and wait to see if Microsoft fixes the issue in a future update.

Edit: There is also a massive difference in the way the grays of Discord look on our PCs vs. our phones. The gray colors of Discord on our PCs are way brighter where previously there were quite similar to how they look on our phones.

[metroidfox]

So you have output dynamic range set to full in the Nvidia control panel, but your monitor set to the higher black level, right?


I haven't played Apex, but that image looks right to me. The walls, and even the door at the end of the hallway are visible, though dark. Seems weird to me that they should be indistinguishable.


Do these look right to you?
http://www.lagom.nl/lcd-test/gradient.php
http://www.lagom.nl/lcd-test/black.php
http://www.lagom.nl/lcd-test/contrast.php

[Kain]

I have over 500 hours in Apex and can clearly remember what that cave looked like before. Yes, my NVIDIA dynamic range is set to "full". It's not just elevated black/gray levels but colors seem weirdly off as well, as if I am using a cheap monitor with poor color accuracy.

Have a look at the following video (one of many on YouTube). Watch from 0:45 and see how dark the cave is. He even mentions trying to use something to get a light source in there to see what you are doing.

[yt]IO0VagxRnVQ[/yt]

[Kain]

I look screenshots of Discord on my PC and iPhone. The difference may not look like much but notice how I have selected the "Rules" category and how the small gray rectangle highlighting the "Rules" category name is brighter on PC. Also, the difference is a lot bigger in real life.

PC:



iPhone:

[Munkus]

I don't know what else to suggest. Maybe play with the gamma/brightness settings in Windows and in each game until it doesn't bother you as much.

[Nunz]

Assuming this is still the PG279Q? First thing - Reset to Factory Defaults on the monitor.

Could you please download this ICC profile - https://www.rtings.com/images/review...cc-profile.icm

Guide on how to set ICC profiles:

https://www.displayninja.com/how-to-...on-windows-10/

Also, go into NVCP -> Adjust Desktop Color Settings -> CHECK the "OVERRIDE TO REFERENCE MODE" box

BTW, comparing your (somewhat old) IPS LED panel to an iPhone running an AMOLED or OLED screen is not comparable - I understand what you mean, but it's not exactly a 1:1 comparison, and not one to base whether your monitor is accurately displaying the image it should.

Another idea, since it seems this happened after you moved the monitor, is a loose cable. Try flipping the DisplayPort cable (the side you have connected to the GPU, put that on the monitor) I highly doubt this does anything, but it could be (low chance, imo) a cable/signal integrity issue.

[Kain]

My iPhone is an iPhone 6s (which has an LCD screen).

I am and have always been using the settings and ICC profile from TFT Central: http://tftcentral.co.uk/reviews/asus...tm#calibration

Also, the screen shouldn't matter in my screenshots above since they are taken by what the OS "sees" and not what the screen sees.

Also, the same thing is happening on my brother's PC.

It is also not just brightness/gray levels that seem off but color accuracy too. Hard to notice unless you know what to look for.

Already tried pretty much everything so I guess I'll just wait and see if some future Windows update and/or some NVIDIA driver fixes the issue. If you search Google, you'll get quite a few results with people stating that color accuracy and/or brightness seem off after a Windows update (but they are from couple years ago).

[Nunz]

Did you try the ICC profile I linked?

I'm assuming you've also tried the "OVERRIDE TO REFERENCE MODE" that I mentioned as well?

[Kain]

Yes, I just did. I also used their recommended brightness, contrast, color settings as well. Not sure how they came up with a brightness setting of 9 as the recommended as that is pretty low. I was using 25 before and could still barely see in direct sunlight.

Also, NVIDIA's Reference Mode overrides any ICC profiles you use if I am not mistaken. Still tried it though.

[Nunz]

Yes, I just did. I also used their recommended brightness, contrast, color settings as well. Not sure how they came up with a brightness setting of 9 as the recommended as that is pretty low. I was using 25 before and could still barely see in direct sunlight.

Yeah, I dunno how they come up with those brightness settings sometimes but they are going strictly for most accurate color reproduction, not usability, if I'm not mistaken.

Also, NVIDIA's Reference Mode overrides any ICC profiles you use if I am not mistaken. Still tried it though.

Yes, it should override any ICC profile and go to raw output. I should have said to try one, and then try the other, not try both at the same time; my bad.

I'm not sure man. Upgrade to Win11 and see if it changes, lol.

[Kain]

Windows 11 recently had a color rendering issue that was acknowledged by Microsoft: https://www.techspot.com/news/92753-...issue-fix.html

Wonder if it is also affecting Windows 10 in any way? I'll just wait and see if any future Windows update fixes this.

[Nunz]

I can say I have zero color rendering issues on Win11 with a LG CX48 in SDR or HDR.

[Munkus]

I can say I have zero color rendering issues on Win11 with a LG CX48 in SDR or HDR.

Me either.

[metroidfox]

I look screenshots of Discord on my PC and iPhone. The difference may not look like much but notice how I have selected the "Rules" category and how the small gray rectangle highlighting the "Rules" category name is brighter on PC. Also, the difference is a lot bigger in real life.

PC:



iPhone:

I confirmed with my Pixel 6, and my desktop screen that the difference in greys exists. Not just the light grey, but the dark one too.


I'm not certain they should be the same shade of colour.


Both screens display the various tests I linked above correctly.


For the Apex video you linked above, it feels like they have full dynamic range being outputted, and OBS or whatever also is not compensating for this. That video is definitely crushing black levels.

[metroidfox]

These have to be crushed black levels. This looks completely wrong.

[Kain]

Thanks for the feedback.

That Apex video is how my game used to look like in real life while playing. Maybe it was wrong all along and some Windows and/or Apex update fixed it? But then even on my brother's PC, his lock screen picture (which he's had/used for a very long time) also has elevated/brighter grays which is causing banding. Pure blacks are still pure black though on both our PCs.

[Kain]

See the following monitor test: https://www.eizo.be/monitor-test/

In the "Gradients" test, do you see any lines/abrupt changes with 256 steps/intervals?

[metroidfox]

Yes, 256 definitely still has steps. The gradient test I pasted has more transitions in it.

[Kain]

Okay, I originally said in a previous post above with screenshots that the "Rules" category's small gray rectangle on my PC was a different shade to that of on my iPhone. But it seems that only happens when you click and select the category. If you just place your mouse on a category without selecting it, it is apparently the same shade as on my iPhone. See the following screenshot where I have the "Rules" category selected but my mouse hovering over the "off-topic" category:



I may be just tripping balls here because of the difference in Apex. Maybe it was just a game update that changed that and now I am thinking everything in Windows is different as well.

Lastly, if I tap and hold a category name on my iPhone, it also turns light gray like the selected "rules" category on my PC.

[Nunz]

lol.. oh boy

[Kain]

I think I'm going to stop worrying about this for now.

Will see if anyone else mentions/notices the Apex change (which I am not sure if it was because of a game update or Windows update).

[Kain]

Seems a recent Apex update did tamper with brightness/colors: https://www.reddit.com/r/apexlegends...tness_problem/

[Kain]

There is a written guide with screenshots showing how to activate bots in the firing range. They specifically mention the cave is dark and recommend turning up the brightness so you can see better. They have provided screenshots as well where you can see how dark it is (you can barely see anything besides the cave's exit).

Inside the cave, you’ll spot a metal rafter (a hanging sheet or pole) near the ceiling. You can turn up the game’s brightness slightly to better differentiate it from the wall since the area is pretty dark.

I wonder since to activate the bots in the firing range you have to use the cave, they just upped the brightness in that location or the overall game?

https://www.alphr.com/turn-bots-apex-legends/

Anyone, I'm going to stop worrying about this for now I guess.

[Kain]

Do any of you see any slight banding in the Windows weather app?

[Munkus]

Yes there is banding in that screenshot. No it's not your monitor. You're obsessing. Stop it.

[Nunz]

Banding is normal, though, especially on a screen like that where it's doing extremely minor gradient shifts.

I'm on an OLED and I see grey banding every now and then. No panel, not IPS, VA, OLED, AMOLED, etc, is going to be immune.